A solid OT road win over possibly the league's best all-round team is a great way to sum up the Red Wings finish to the 2009/2010 regular season.
After trailing 1-0 after the first from an ugly, very playoff-like powerplay goal from the Blackhawks Dave Bolland, Detroit kept their sticks on the ice as they defended against the formidable Chicago attack whilst countering with some offense of their own.
Patrick Eaves tied the game up in the second and a Tomas Holmstrom tip on Brian Rafalski's blueline drive in the third gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead as the "De-troit sucks!" chants had a rare silencing at the United Center.
The playoff-like defense continued as the Wings defended their modest lead with success but the skate of the red-hot Colin Fraser was too much to stop, tying it up only 3 minutes later.
The Wings were forced to kill off one more penalty with 2:32 left on the clock to earn the point keep them above the Predators, but the Kings overtime win in Denver moments earlier meant Detroit needed a second point to take 5th-place and a first-round match-up against the Coyotes.
The free-flowing OT period lasted only 3:11 as Brad Stuart ended the regular seasons for both teams with just his 4th goal of the season, capping off the Wings amazing finish to the season with a 3-2 overtime win, and a 15-2-2 run.
Additional bonus: No Conference title for Chicago. Unlucky!!
Special Teams
Today's game was a rare one, where Detroit took more penalties than their opponents. Detroit went 0/2 on their opportunities while keeping the 'Hawks to 1/4 after giving up a PP goal only 11 seconds into the first man-advantage of the game.
In Net
- Jimmy Howard had another great performance, capping off a 15-1-2 end to his regular season. Howard made 27 saves for the Wings including 16 in the middle frame, keeping the Wings in the game.
- Antti Niemi stopped 18 of 21 Detroit shots on goal, finishing his magnificent rookie season with a 26-7-4 record.
Up Next...
The Phoenix Coyotes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs!!!
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